Jim Dumont

Curriculum Interview
May 31, 2016
I currently work for a school within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Our
curriculum is based around the Catholic faith. The Center for Leadership in Education is
a partner of the Archdiocese. The Center examines the curriculum to ensure the students
gain the appropriate learning skills and abilities each year. In addition, the archdiocese
works closely with the Partnership for 21st Century Skills to guarantee our schools and
academic programs are equipped with the strongest instructional tools available. The
curriculum is set downtown and not in a classroom environment. I interviewed my
principal about her thoughts about curriculum.
IF, I had a choice, I would go back to a stronger practice based curriculum based
on more input at the local level. This would be a delicate balance because we would have
to keep the diocesan guidelines but design it to include local initiatives. These initiatives
would be a result of our studying the results of the spring testing to see what the strengths
and weaknesses of the school are, plan curriculum around.
My take away from her response, is that the curriculum has become to broad and needs to
be localized down. I believe that she also would like to have more of a personalized
school curriculum, rather than a one size fits all models.
I do believe we have to have more input from our students as to what they feel is
a school's strengths and weaknesses regarding subject matter. This might be
accomplished through "exit" interviews and then a follow-up as they enter high school. I
think they could provide some valuable information as to how they felt they were
prepared. A glaring hole in the elementary curriculum is that it is in total isolation from

the diocesan high schools. Elementary schools are constantly upgrading, looking at
different models, not sure the high schools are doing the same.
My principal has been in education for decades, all across the country. I see
everyday that she is current with her ideology of education and has a subscription to
ASCD. I am constantly being given ideas how to best reach the students. I feel that one of
the goals of my school is to be a beacon of activity for the students. The students need to
feel apart of what it is they are learning. They need to know that it is relevant to their
future.
The diocese studies the overall test results for the diocese and then makes
recommendations as to what areas might need to be strengthened or re-designed. I think
they help in seeing how the students are learning and also helps to see the trends in a
school. Sharp declines or rapid inclines can be a source of valuable information. I do
think we need to look at how teachers impact student performance. I realize this is not
popular with teachers but if class scores decline, we need to review teacher performance
as well. Good teachers have a definite impact on their students' achievement.
My opinion on the standardized test scores is similar to my principals. My only
opposition, is that the review of a teacher, needs to come after multiple years of declining
scores. It is a reflection of a teacher the way the students score, but that reflection needs
to show a consistent decline. A teacher has the most influence on the students education.